Published: June 20, 2009 12:29 pm      

Roof fire damages 15 classrooms in Fulton

FULTON, Ill. — A normally quiet summer at Fulton Elementary School has been replaced by the continuous buzzing of high-powered fans and dehumidifiers being used to dry out damage inside caused by a fire that broke out on the roof Monday.

The fire, which sent two workers to the emergency room, was contained to the roof but water used to put out the fire seeped through and caused damage to about 15 classrooms and the east hallway.

Ceiling tiles have been torn down in those parts of the building and school desks and other items have been moved to the hallways.

“We had water pretty much all the way down the hallway on that side of the building,” said Mindy Dunlap, Fulton Elementary School Principal. “My main concern now is to get the building back to the condition we were in so we're up and running for kids to come back in August.”



Electronic items, including a computer and television, and textbooks to one of the classrooms has been destroyed. Computers in the lab were unharmed because they were covered in plastic.

However, the extent of the damage could be greater once staff has finished looking through all of the cabinets in the classrooms, Dunlap said.

How much the clean up will cost is still undetermined at this time, she said, but a restoration service in Moline has been working on the clean up all week.

“It's disheartening to see the classrooms in the condition they're in right now,” Dunlap said.

A mechanical malfunction in a glue spray gun being used by workers on the roof triggered the fire. Two workers from Oldeen Roofing Inc. were rushed to Mercy Medical Center, including a worker who jumped from the one-story roof after catching on fire.

Roofers resumed work on the roof Wednesday but sectioned off the area with the worst fire damage. Dunlap said summer staff returned to the building Tuesday but teachers have been asked to stay away until the insurance agency has completed its investigation.

The River Bend School District approved the $408,000 project last year.